St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-06
Sam Small Asserts That Large Num-
bers of Minneapolitans Never
Think Of God,
And Who Have No Impulses or Move
ments of the Soul Toward Re-
ligious Life.
His Own Drinking, Gambling, Degrade
ton OF Character and DeVilment
Referred To.
A Plea to the Multitude to Turn
Squarely Around and Follow
Christ's Teachings.

The sermon delivered by Rev. Sam
Small last evening was as follows:
The Scripture which suggest my remarks
to you this evening is in the 18th verse iii.
chapter. Prophecy of Joel: ''Multitudes,
multitades in the valley of decision" and
such | verify believe under God is the
actual condition Of multitudes of people in
this g3odly CITY tonight. i believe that
there are hundreds and thousands of men,
who for years and years have not
thought Of religion seriously. Have not
thought of God. Have not forecast
their destiny from their present surround
ings and who have had no impulses and no
movements of their souls toward RICH -aous-
ness; believe there are hundreds md thou
sands of those in this city and vicinity who
are in the valley of decision. They have
been awakened and the word of God has
been brought to them They have GC.ne
under this influence. T!ey have heard it,
They have understood it. They have felt
that it was directed to Them, and tonight
they are in a state of absolute indecision.
They are, rs Bro. Ritner said in his PRAYER
between two Influences Between the de-
cision as to whether they shall continue as
they are, or whether they will turn about
l know from letters, / know from cOEversa-
ton, know from what persons have told me.
that there are many men in this city, and
women in this city tonight who are
SERIOUSLY CONCERNED
for the hour and the day and the season about
their immortal destiny. Looking back upon
their past life. Looking upon all the frail-
ties with all gayeties.. with all the wasted
pleasure and wealth, and the vanities
of this world; as they look back over
their record, some of them for two years.
some for five years. some for ten, and some
perhaps for twenty years are endeayoring
seriously to answer to. their souls this ques-
ton: What prophet had we then in those
things of which we are now ashamed. |
know how man feels when he is brought
low into the valley of tribulation. The val
ley of decision is in reality the valley of trib-
ulation and the valley of tribulation Is the
valley of threshing- valley where the
work of separation takes place, the valley
where ynTt yGn 60 Sn dGTn in loTliness Of
abasement. of soul, and take all the
reapings of your life and thresh them out
and see how much solid wheat there is and
how much chatf, straw and stubble to be
burned with everlasting fire. This is the
meaning, actually of the scripture / quote
In that valley of tribulation. In that valley
of threshing. In that valley where you find
out honestly with yourself what has been the
outcome of my life. What has been the
product of my practices. What has been
the profit of my prolifigecy. I know what it
is to sit down seriously under the pressure of
looking into eternity; under the desire to
penetrate the inpenetrable future; under the
desire to know what is to be the final out.
come of it all l know what it is to sit and
count up the product of a
MIssPENT LIFE.
know what it is to find that mylate hours
my designations, my drinking, my gambling,
my general devilment; know what it is to
find that it has produced poverty; to find it
has produced degradation of character: to
find it has produced the loss of self-esteem
even; to find 1t has produced a loss of char
acter in the community: TO find it has pro
duced n weakness of the physical power: to
find it has produced weak, I'M
certain and unreliable mental bal
ance and judgment; / know what
1t is to cause misspent life. know what it
is to look back over the record and see that
my drinking has brought me to acknowledge
the truth, where God says that there is death
there is dishonor, ungodliness and upright
eousness in it, know what il is to tempt
fortune. And to find out at last that fortune
has led you on through paths that you did
not approve in your honest conscience. 1t
has led you to do things from the name of
which you would almost shrink if they were
spoken TO the general public. l know what
1t is TO know that gambling has taken away
the sense of love, duty and obligation to wife
and children. know what it is; have spent
my last dollar on the gamblingltable; to have
risked my last cent ON the green table, and to
have to pawn my wife's jewelry in order to
find some means wherewith to continue that
hellish enjoyment. know what it is to see
wife sitting amid gloom, with her face
picture of sorrow and suffering that would
make an angel weep. And to see
her sit there with hopeless helpless her
children, in the terror of their Innocence,
and their ignorance of the causes, clinging to
her skirts as if there was some fearful des-
tiny overhanging them. Brethren, l do not
know whether you have met any of those
experiences vet in your sinful life But let
me tell you, If you have not met these in
your experience, they are Just ahead of Won.
and maybe not far. There are men, perhaps
who can
FLAUNT THEIR SINS
in the face of the world There are men
who can take reckless pride in their drunk
enness. But say to you the day will come
to pass if they continue in that way, when
there will be gall and bitterness in their re-
Inembrance of their evil deeds, and when
they viii say ut was all of it vanity, vanities
and vexation of spirit and the work of the
devil in my nature" Many a woman in Min,
neapolis who is in the valley of decision.
You have come down. You have heard,
though it may have made you mad at
first, it aroused all your more refined
feelings and your sensibilities and
your ideas of propriety were shaken
But after all the truth of God that was in it
has come to you, and come to you, until at
last you turned away from improprieties to
look at proprieties of your own life and heart
and conditions. Now then you say as you
are honest and serious with yourself, you say
that if the preacher had known my inner life
as it is, he could not have fitted language to it
more expressive than he did. i have seen
just that sort of thing happen before. have
seen them come and with broken consecrated
hearts surrender to God, and after the glow
and after the rapture and after the
joy inexpressible had come to their souls,
stand up and say j cannot explain why |
committed myself to be led off in those
things Muititudes in the valley of decision
How many men and women have stood in a
congregation and tried as used TO try to con-
ceal my feelings under the pressure of truth
rs it was poured home upon my spirit about
these thoughts of yourself ''Multitudes in
the valley of decision" Do you know that is
right where
GODS SPIRIT.
wants to bring you? And do you know
Furthermore that that is as far as Gods
spirit can bring you with your help? 1t can
bring you to the point of decision. 1t can
bring you into the valley of tribulationl He
can force you to decide, but he can not force
the decision. He can not direct or control
it. He can not arbitrarily decide, that which
your spirit refuses to decide and He can not
make you bend your stubborn knee or bow
your hardened neck at the foot of the cross
of Jesus Christ unless you are willing to do it,
Jesus stood ON the porch of PLATE, and PLATE
in his dismay and fright at the awful tragedy
being forced upon him and that he knew was
wrong. brought out Barabas the murderer,
the highway robber, and said: VIII YOU take
Barabas or will you take Christ? And they
said give rs our gift BarahHs. They decided
on the spot that they would take the repre-
sentative of all evil; and Christ they said:
Cruelty him, cruelty him And the record
reads this way: And he delivered Jesus to
their will To do what they willed with him.
And they willed to cruelty Jesus Christ
You are in the valley of decision to -night,and
tonight under the influence of the Holy
Ghost, under the preaching of the word of
God, under the indsputable truth. eternal
integrity of the word Of God, there is a con-